The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced its Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) requirements for 2011. The final requirements fall in line with the agency’s proposed rule from earlier in the year.
The total RFS2 requirement for 2011 will remain at 13.95 billion gallons. Of this amount, 12.6 billion gallons will be starch-based ethanol. The remaining 1.35 billion gallons will be a combination of biodiesel and other advanced biofuels, including a 6.6 million gallon requirement specifically for cellulosic biofuels, which is lower than original targets established when the RFS2 became law.
In response to the standard, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen issued the following statement:
“The RFS was designed in part to ensure the evolution of America’s biofuels industry is successful. By reducing the standard for cellulosic biofuels, EPA is accurately reflecting the difficulties cellulosic biofuel technologies have encountered in obtaining the capital needed to fully commercialize. However, being aware of this fact, EPA should have been and must be careful to keep cellulosic biofuel targets ambitious so as to stimulate the kind of investment these technologies need to finish commercialization.”
In its comments on EPA’s proposed rule, the RFA urged EPA to keep the overall RFS target at 13.95 billion gallons and allow other renewable fuels as defined by the RFS to make up the cellulosic biofuel shortfall in 2011.
